Anthropology Graduate Reading Room
Policies and Procedures

(revised 10/25/07)

[Open Fall 07 Reading Room Schedule (pdf document)]

Faculty Committee:

• Dr. Geoffrey White [Chair] ()
• Dr. Andrew Arno ()

Staff Coordinator:

• Denise Wandasan, Graduate Specialist ()

Graduate Student Coordinators:

• Ruth Craft ()
• Aggy Stevens-Gleason ()

1) The AnthroGrad Reading Room is operated on a VOLUNTEER graduate student cooperative basis. A sign up sheet is posted at the beginning of each semester, and students are encouraged to volunteer as monitors for at least one two-hour shift per week for two semesters. As volunteers, monitors have access to the Reading Room and may check out books. Volunteers are granted continued checkout privileges once the two-semester commitment has been completed; however, many students continue to volunteer their time beyond this commitment period.

2) ALL users, including monitors, are required to sign in and out. The schedule is posted outside the room (SSB 326) so users will know when to expect the room to be open. Volunteers may be present at any time during regular business hours (M-F from 8am-5pm); however, the Reading Room is usually closed on weekends, holidays, and during summer breaks unless otherwise posted.

3) Only AUTHORIZED (see #1 above) anthropology graduate students, faculty and staff may check out materials. Users must return books by the end of the semester (the Friday before finals week). Users with lost or unreturned books must replace the item(s) or find a similar/suitable replacement. Users who do not abide by Reading Room policies and procedures may lose borrowing privileges.

4) Other users (if they have a valid UH ID) may use the room ONLY while an authorized monitor is present; however, they do NOT have check out privileges.

5) The access code to the Reading Room is CONFIDENTIAL, is available to current volunteers ONLY, and is obtained from the Coordinators. When leaving the room, even if for a short period of time, monitors are asked to make sure the door is fully closed. The door is to remain open on scheduled days/times. The door is often open during non-scheduled days/times, but only at the discretion of the volunteers.

6) During a given shift, the monitor is responsible for:

1. Opening and closing the Reading Room and asking users to sign in and out
2. Checking books/items in and out via the computer database (and verifying user authorization)
3. Shelving books, journals, and other materials
4. Assisting users with locating materials
5. Becoming familiar with what can and cannot be checked out
6. Collecting money for any books sold and forwarding any cash over $5 to Denise
7. Ensuring that Reading Room policies and procedures are followed at all times (see manual in RR)

7) Volunteers who are unable to work a scheduled shift must find a replacement or notify a Coordinator and reschedule accordingly. Volunteers are not required to work during midterm or finals week.

8) Materials in the General Collection, Folio Section, and Textbooks Section may be checked out by authorized users by filling out the computer record for each item with the borrower's name, email, phone, and due date. Journals, UH Anthropology Dissertations and Theses, and the rest of the Reference Collection (foreign language reference, dictionaries, encyclopedias, sample proposal binders, course readings, etc.) may NOT be checked out except for photocopying purposes (by authorized users only) and must be returned promptly.

9) The Reading Room collections are housed within an EXTREMELY LIMITED amount of space. Thus, users who plan to donate items to the Reading Room MUST first contact a Coordinator to ensure that this limited amount of space is filled with materials deemed useful for academic purposes ONLY! Mahalo ;)

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